With Sunday signaling the final day of the season in Europe’s top five leagues, the title in La Liga will have been decided before a ball is kicked. Barcelona and Real Madrid each kick off at 4pm on Saturday afternoon as the duo strive to secure domestic glory.
Barcelona hold the upper hand coming into the final round of fixtures, with the Blaugrana top of the Primera Division by a solitary point. Having won their last four La Liga fixtures after a minor blip, victory at Granada will guarantee them the title. Granada are already safe from relegation so have nothing other than pride to play for ahead of the welcome of Barcelona.
Of course, that isn’t to say Granada will simply roll over and allow Luis Enrique’s side all three points. The hosts are unbeaten on home turf in their last six La Liga fixtures, winning three. In that time, they have conceded just six goals, with their defence impressing at this key stage of the season. Indeed, they will need to be on top of their game with the welcome of Barcelona.
Enrique’s team have netted more goals (109) than any other team in La Liga this season and boast the most prolific frontman in Europe. Luis Suarez has netted an astonishing 37 league goals this term - more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues - 11 of which have come in his last four Spanish top-flight outings. He is expected to lead the attack at the Estadio Neuvo Los Carmenes with Lionel Messi and Neymar flanking the Uruguayan as the famous MSN scalpel-sharp trident take to the field once more.
However, just because Messi, Suarez and Neymar have netted a remarkable 87 league goals between them this season - with one of the three scoring every 38.3 minutes - doesn’t mean Barcelona can rest on their laurels on Sunday. Of the last four league meetings between these two sides at Granada, Barcelona have netted just six league goals, though three of those came in this fixture last season.
Having they themselves bagged three goals in the last three home league meetings with Barcelona, Granada won’t fear the league leaders. If Barcelona are to come away with the crucial three points, they need to maintain focus over the 90 minutes or run the risk of being leapfrogged by fierce rivals Real Madrid.
Los Blancos travel to Deportivo, with the home side boasting the worst home record in La Liga this season having won 20 points of a possible 54 at the Riazor. Real Madrid are no slouches when it comes to putting Deportivo to the sword either netting 26 goals in the last six league meetings. They fired eight past the Branquiazuis went these two met in 2014 at the Riazor and while Deportivo will be keen to avoid a similar result, Real Madrid’s form suggests they are possible of matching that result on Saturday.
Zinedine Zidane’s side have netted 108 league goals this season and have won their last 11 league matches. Like Granada, Deportivo are safe from the threat of relegation, so have nothing to play for coming into this fixture. Current top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo (33 goals) will hope to put pressure on Suarez in the race for the Pichichi in Spain’s top tier.
Real Madrid certainly have the means to put this Deportivo defence to the sword and you can bet they will look to increase the pressure on Barcelona from the get go. However, they still sit one point behind Barcelona coming into this final hurdle and while Real Madrid are unlikely to fall, they are expected to be beaten to the finish line by their fierce rivals by the narrowest of margins.
For more stats on La Liga, click here to head to WhoScored's Primera Division league page
